QinetiQ has carried out a fatigue and fracture mechanics assessment of NATO’s submarine rescue vehicle, part of the NATO Submarine Rescue System (NSRS), a multinational project that delivers rescue capability primarily for the partner nations of France, Norway and the U.K. and to NATO and allied nations. QinetiQ’s Marine Structural Analysis & Technical Services team was commissioned to conduct a structural integrity review of the submarine, including a stress-life fatigue assessment, which evaluated the welded joints of the pressure hull against the relevant design standards, and a probabilistic assessment of the likelihood of failure by fatigue.
